Jacob Rees-Mogg tried to get one over Krishnan Guru-Murthy but it massively backfired

Jacob Rees-Mogg just tried to skewer Krishnan Guru-Murthy but it hasn't gone down well.

In a Channel 4 interview yesterday, the Tory MP called out the broadcaster over the time he called Steve Baker a "c**t", an incident he apologised for at the time.

Rees-Mogg had been asked about a poll showing public support for Brexit has seriously declined. Rather than engage, Rees-Mogg slammed people who "lost" during the 2016 referendum and said he included Guru-Murthy in that category because of how he had sworn about Brexiteer Baker.

"My comments had nothing to do with politics or policy I assure you," the broadcaster said.

Rees-Mogg called for him to apologise for the comments "on-air". "I think that's important," he said. "Oh good," he added when Guru-Murthy said he had already apologised.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Last month, the broadcaster was caught calling Baker a "c**t" in an off-air moment after interviewing the politician.

He quickly apologised, tweeting: "After a robust interview with Steve Baker MP I used a very offensive word in an unguarded moment off air. While it was not broadcast that word in any context is beneath the standards I set myself and I apologise unreservedly. I have reached out to Steve Baker to say sorry."

Baker later replied to the tweet accepting the apology. “I appreciate you apologising. Thank You,” he wrote.

But, later, Baker told John Pienaar on Times Radio that he hopes Channel 4 sacks the journalist.

Baker said: “I had an interview earlier with a journalist I don’t have a great deal of regard for, who I felt always misrepresenting the situation through the construction of his question, which I called out, I think live on air, or I thought it was a pre-record.

“And he clearly didn’t like that, quite right, too. But I’d be quite honest, I spent a long time live on air, calling him out on his contact as a journalist and glad to do so any time.

“But it’s most unfortunate that he has sworn on air like that. If it’s in breach of his code of conduct, I do hope they sack him – it would be a service to the public.”

And the journalist was taken off-air until early November.

In a statement published at the time, Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 has a strict code of conduct for all its employees, including its programming teams and on-air presenters, and takes any breaches seriously.

“Following an off-air incident, Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been taken off air for a week.”

So it was put to bed and when he brought it up again yesterday, people didn't take Rees-Mogg's side:

Elsewhere in the interview, Rees-Mogg criticised Hunt for his tax policies.

“Taxation has got too high and there are issues with the level of expenditure that we have got,” he said.

“I think there is a real problem with fiscal drag bringing more and more people into the 40p (tax) band who, particularly if they are living in the South of England, are not necessarily particularly well-off.

“That is going to be hard for them paying an extra level of tax on top of what they are already paying.

“Also freezing the basic band is going to be a burden for all taxpayers, even those who are still in receipt of benefit.

“I think we need to look at the efficiency of government to make sure money is well spent before reaching for the easy option of putting up taxes.

“What we actually need to be doing is having a strategy for growth and looking to lower taxes.”

It is a simple and fundamental principle that the government derives its democratic legitimacy from the people. The future of the country must not be decided by plotting and U-turns at Westminster; it must be decided by the people in a general election. And for this reason The Independent is calling for an election to be held. Have your say and sign our election petition by clicking here.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.